I think it's fascinating that different reviewers are pointing out completely different stories as favorites and sometimes stories they hate. To me, it shows that the book has a wide enough appeal to be enjoyed by more than one audience and that most of the stories are making an impact, something I advocate.

Alankria found a few of the stories "lousy" but it's obvious from comments about those stories that Alankria didn't "get" them. eg. Alankria calls the "ending of [The Passion of Azazel] utterly unbelievable and daft."

Ah... unlike the rest of the story wherein a goat golem is created. Alankria apparently missed the climax of "Gladiolus Exposed."

Just fyi, my mom (not a science fiction reader) ONLY really liked the Cadigan story because she could get into it more easily that an sf story such as "Special Economics" and because she knew boys like Jimmy when she was young. I hope the contributors aren't too insulted by my mom. Never fear, I'm insulted enough for all of you! :-)

Final lines:"Definitely pick the book up because there are more great stories here than good stories, as well as more good stories than mediocre ones. Get what I’m saying, people? It’s worth the money and your time."

and Nick Kaufmann is raving:Here are the last two paragraphs:The Del Rey Book of Science Fiction and Fantasy is a beautifully designed book, too. From the Terry Gilliamesque cover art by Christian Northeast to Karin Batten's text design, you can tell a lot of thought and creativity went into the publication. That's always nice to see, as it indicates the publisher believes in the book enough to put effort into it and isn't simply churning out something disposable to fill a slot. And this is definitely an anthology worth believing in.

If you like speculative fiction that's creative, original and well written, check out The Del Rey Book of Science Fiction and Fantasy. You won't be disappointed.The whole review is here:

For anyone in the NY area, we're having a launch/signing/reading party at the South Street Seaport Museum this Tuesday...and if you don't have a copy yet you can buy one there and have it signed by me and contributors Barry N. Malzberg, Carol Emshwiller, and Richard Bowes. (even if you bring a copy we'll sign em!)

Bibliophile reviews The Del Rey Book of Science Fiction and Fantasyand likes it: Bibliophile I hope Charles doesn't mention me grabbing his recommendation for reading my book and Jonathan Strahan's The Starry Rift at the same time but I like it:

"I was going through Amazon looking for book covers of The Del Rey Book of Science Fiction and Fantasy and the "Better Together" recommendation was to buy The Starry Rift along with it. I absolutely support this recommendation and here's my suggestion to make the reading experience smoother:

Buy both books and alternate reading stories from each anthology. For one thing, they both contain sixteen stories each but another reason is that they complement each other well in my opinion. The stories in Datlow's anthology are heavy and long and a tad bit dark (akin to running a marathon) and while Strahan has his fair share of heavy stories in The Starry Rift, several of them are light and short and optimistic (your daily 10 km. jog is perhaps a closer analogy). It'll highlight the strengths of both collections and gives you some breathing room.

(Of course what happened in reality was that I dove into The Starry Rift and only after finishing it [because I don't like juggling books] did I read The Del Rey Book of Science Fiction and Fantasy.)"

Today I received by box of The Del Rey Book of Science Fiction and Fantasy--hallelujah! means that there will be books to sell at next Wednesday's reading/signing/launch party at the South Street Seaport.